Firefighters contain brush fires along I-69 in Noblesville

You hear it as you walk and you can tell, just by looking at the color, the grass and other vegetation in Indiana is very dry.  Friday, it helped fuel a fire along Interstate 69 and this could just be the beginning.

Emergency crews responded to the scene just after noon. The right lane of I-69 southbound was temporarily closed between mile markers 11 to 14. 

"When we got here, there were four very large areas that we needed to have multiple jurisdictions come and help us," said Noblesville Fire Department Division Chief Rick Russell.

Fire officials said the four fire patches were all sparked by the same blown semi tire.

"Maybe it was locked up or tearing apart," said Russell.  "It may have been on fire.  As the tire continued to tear, it caught the grass in the ditch on fire which in turn caught the side of the road on fire."

Fire did not reach the road, but the smoke did.  Traffic was reduced to one lane to keep drivers safe and to give fire crews more room to work.

"Today we got lucky," said Russell.

Russell said what happened Friday could be the beginning of a long summer trend.

"Until we get some rain, it is going to be like this for a while," said Russell.

Russell said cigarette smokers should change their habits after what happened with that blown semi tire.  He said smokers should soak what is left of their cigarettes in water, or some other liquid instead of just simply throwing them out the window.